Marine propulsion device



July 22 1924. 3,592,477

c. J. MEYER MARINE PROPULSION DEVICE Filed Oct. 12 1921 Patented July 22,1924.

srArEs PATENT OFFICE? CHRISTOPHER J. MEYER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO EVINRUDE .MOTOR QOMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A- CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

'MARINE PROPULSION DEVICE.

Application filed October 12, 1921. Serial No. 507,225.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I I, CHRISTOPHER J. /ME YER, a-citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Marine Propulsion Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1 in marine propulsion devices. More particularly this invention relates to the submerged gearing and gear case assembly of a portable marine motor of the general type disclosed in Letters Patent to Ole Evinrudc, Number 1,001,260, of August 22, 1911.

It is the object of this invention to provide a propeller shaft and bevel gear assembly wherein the thrust of the propeller is balanced against the thrust of the gears which drive it. In the devices hitherto constructed the bevel gear carried by the propeller shaft has been mounted forward of the vertical transmission shaft from which it receives its power andthe thrust hearing at the front end of the transmission shaft has been subjected to excessive wear since it has had to withstand the combined thrust from the propeller and the meshed miter gears. In the construction hereinafter to be described, the gear carried by the propeller shaft is mounted at the rear of the vertical shaft and the thrust of the propeller tends to maintain the gears in mesh. The thrust bearin is therefore called upon to 35 absorb only tie and the wear upon the shaft and bearmg 1s reduced to a minimum.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a submerged gear casing wherein the gears and the pump cam w1ll be disposed in separate compartments. It is customary to operate the pump from a cam,

upon the propeller shaft thru the intermediation of an oscillatory plunger our naled 1n the gear casing. Heretofore this cam has ordinarily been made integral with the miter .gear by which the propeller shaft 1s driven and the plunger has reciprooated within the compartment containin the gearing. In the improved construction of this invention the miter gear referred to is disposed at'the rear of the casing and a partition wall separates the gear com artmentafrom the compartment at the ront surplus of propeller thrust.

end of the casing which houses the pump actuatlng camand plungen. This forward compartment is provided with one or more ports thru which water is free to circulate responsive to the action of the plunger. In the old construction the gear chamber was subjected to pressure pulsations .due to the plunger action and it was consequently almost impossible to keep this chamber free of sand, 'it, and water. In the construction of this invention the gear chamber may be. maintained at a constant pressure balancin the external pressure, whereby the water wi l neither tend to leak in, nor the -oil tend to leak out. The cam chamber, on the other hand, being open to the free circulation of 7 water is freed from any'possibility of sand Y accumulation therein.

A further object of this invention is to produce a gear casing which will eifectthe foregoing purposes and will nevertheless be pleasingly symmetrical and be provided with graceful lines suggestive of speed.

Other objects are to devise means whereby the thrust bearing of the propeller shaft can be adjusted from the exterior of the casing to take up wear, to provide said shaft with adequate line" bearings, and to render the whole mechanism more readily accessible than has hitherto been the case. p The drawing represents the lower portions of a ortable, or outboard motor, the casing in w ich the gears and pump actuating mechanism are housed being broken away to expose the interior construction.

The bracket 1 whereby the motor is secured to the transom of a boat is made fast tov the sleeve 2 within which a rotatable sleeve 3 is supported. Sleeve 3 is secured at its lower end to the casing 4 which houses the bevel drive pinions and the pump actuating mechanism. This sleeve when released at its upper end turns upon its own axis .due to the reaction of thepropeller thrust casing 4 to prevent leakage.

Carried by the closure plate 10 is a tubular bearing member within which the propeller shaft 6 is journaled. The hub 16 of propeller 17 which is adapted to receive the shaft 6, is provided at its forward end with a socket 18 of-enlarged diameter within which is journaled the tubular bearing member 15. 4 It will be noted that an exmember 20 similar to member 15 tremely substantial mounting for the propeller is thus provided. The forward end of shaft 6 is journaled in. a tubular bearing previously described. I

The upper side of bearing member 20 is cut away to make room for the mitered pinion 21 carried by thepower shaft 5. Abevel gear 22 mounted upon propeller shaft 6 and in mesh with pinion 21 receives power therefrom. It will be noted that this arrangement gives the propeller shaft an unusual amount of support.

The pump mechanism includes a cylinder 25 adjustably supported from the fixed sleeve 2 by means of an adjustable clamp-V ing device 26. The pump plunger 27 is actuated by an annulus 28 which loosely en circles the sleeve 3 and is reciprocated by plunger 29 which moves in tube 30. A cam 31 upon theforward end of the propeller shaft imparts motion to the plunger 29 to actuate the pump plunger 27 in the manner aforesaid The tube 30 constitutes an integral extension of a cap member 32 which houses the cam and is secured to the gear casing 4 by the same bolts or cap screws 9 which retain the cover plate 11 in lace. A port 33 is provided preferably in't e bottom of cap member 32 to allow free access of the water to the interior of this member responsive to the reciprocatory' motion of lunger 29. It is thereby made impossible or sand or other foreign matter to accumulate in the compartment formed by cap member 32.

An adjustable thrust bearing member 35 is threaded into the end of the cap member 32 and some locking means, such as the set screwdfi, is preferably provided to secure any desired adjustment.v 1

By reason 0 the fact that the pinion 22 l is' mounted rearwardl of the pinion 21, a

left hand propeller 1 is used in lace of the right hand propellerscustomari y found upon this type of motor. The reversing 8.0--

to a smooth and unbroken external contour which is not only serviceable in making these parts pass readily thru the water with very little loss of power due toeddy currents, but also renders the device pleasing in its appearance The shape of the whole casing as determined by the cap piece, the gear housing and the skirted propeller is not perfectly stream lined but it is sufliciently so to be serviceably economical .'of power and the long cylindrical outline with rounded ends is believed to be more attractive in outline than a perfectly stream line body.

Their-udder fin 40, which is so shaped asto protect the propeller from injury, may be cast integrally )With the casing member 4 or may be attached thereto in any desired manner. a It 'will be obvious that the construction herein described and illustrated satisfies the above specified objects andhas other advantages over similar, devices prevlously made.

1. In a marine propulsion .dev1ce provided with a substantially vertical power shaft and a sleeve concentric therewith, the combination of a casing supported from said sleeve and dirigible' therewith, closures for the end of said casing provided with bearings, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings, ower transmitting mechanism within said casing ada ted to drive said last named shaft from sai power shaft, a propeller upon the driven s aft, a cam upon the driven shaft exterlor to the easing, ahousing for said cam, and a plan er operatively associated with sa1d cam wit 1n the housing, said housing belng ported, whereby to relieve it ofpressure.

2', In a marine pro ulslon device having a substantially vertica power shaft and a sleeve concentric therewith, the combination of a casing supported from said sleeve and dirigible therewith, closure plates adapted! to seal the ends of said casingfand provided with tubular journal members, a bevel gear upon the power shaft within the casing a propeller shaft rotatablv mounted withih and a cam upon casing, a protective housing enclosing said cam and the end of the propeller shaft upon which the cam is mounted, said housing being secured to said casing and provided with an aperture opening downwardly,and a plunger reciprocably mounted in said housing and adapted to receive motion from said cam.

3. In a marine propulsion device provided with a relatively fixed pump actuated by a plunger, and a dirigible propeller, propeller shaft and submerged driving connections therefor, the combination of a sealed casing surrounding said driving connections and provided with journals for said propeller shaft in its ends, a cam upon said propeller shaft exterior to said casing and operatively associated with said pump actuating plunger, and a housing ported in a lower portion for said cam and-plunger separate from said casing. I

4. The combination with a dirigible propeller, propeller shaft and driving connec tions therefor, of a casing provided with journal members at its ends adapted to receive said propeller shaft, a cam exterior to the casing upon the propeller shaft, a plunger operatively associated with the cam, and a ported housing separate from said casing enclosing the cam and plunger, whereby the cam and plunger will be protected from contact with obstacles and also from the accumulation of abrasive matter in said housing.

5. In a marine propulsion device provided with a substantially vertical power shaft and a sleeve concentric therewith, the combination of a submersible gear casing supported from said sleeve and provided with journals at its ends, a propeller shaft rotatable in said journals, a propeller 081'? ried thereby, gears within said casing for driving said propeller shaft, a cam exterior to said casing and forward thereof, a housing for said cam supported from said casing, and an adjustable thrust bearing member carried by said housing and adapted to receive axial thrust upon said pro peller shaft.

6. In a marine propeller device, a submersible gear casing provided with ported closures at its ends, tubular bearing members surrounding the ports in each closure, a propeller shaft rotatably mounted in said journal members and provided with a propeller at its end, a gear mounted upon said shaft within the casing and between said journal members, power connections for operatively driving saidgear, a cam disposed forwardly of said casing ,upon the propeller shaft, a housing for said cam, and a thrust bearing for said propeller shaft mounted in said housing.

7. In a marine propulsion device provided with a vertically disposed power shaft and a sleeve concentric therewith, the combination of a casing supported from said sleeve, ported closures for the ends of said casing, a propeller shaft disposed within the ports of said closures and journaled therein, a drive gear carried by the power shaft, a driven gear mounted upon the propeller shaft rearwardly of said first named gear, apropeller at the rear end of said propeller shaft, a cam disposed forwardly of the casing on said propeller shaft, a housing for the cam separate from said casing, and a thrust bearing carried by said housing.

' CHRISTOPHER J MEYER. 

